Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Canada stands ready to help restore shipping in the Strait of Hormuz if an announced breakthrough in talks between Iran and the U.S. comes to fruition, Prime Minister Mark Carney said today ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit in the French Alps.
Carney arrived for the summit midday today, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an agreement had been reached to end the war in Iran.
Trump said Sunday he had authorized an end to the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. He later said the strait wouldn’t open until Friday, when the deal is set to be officially signed.
Speaking to reporters on the tarmac in Ireland today before flying to Geneva, Carney said that he would have an opportunity at the G7 to see what Canada and other countries can do to help reinforce the reported deal.
“Canada very much welcomes this progress,” he said.
He told reporters the situation in the Middle East underscores the need to make commodity systems more resilient to the shocks a conflict can create. He said that conversation will take place at the G7 as well.
Carney was in Paris Friday to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
He then spent the weekend in Ireland, meeting with Taoiseach Micheal Martin in Dublin before travelling to western Ireland, where he met with President Catherine Connolly and toured the village from which his grandparents emigrated more than a century ago.
In other news, Steven Chase reports that Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says she will be meeting with four Chinese companies considering building electric vehicles in Canada when she visits China this week to attract investment to this country’s auto sector.
The four companies – BYD, Chery, Geely and Shanghai Launch Automotive Technology – have been examining possible investments in Canada, Joly said in an interview. Shanghai Launch’s proposal includes a partnership with British automaker Austin Motor Co., she added.
Joly was due to arrive in China today for a four-day visit that will begin in Shanghai. She will visit BYD’s manufacturing base in Changzhou, west of Shanghai, as well as Shanghai Launch’s Wuxi location. After that, she will meet with Chery and visit Geely’s Shanghai research and development centre.
She said she wants to see Canadian companies engaged in contract manufacturing for Chinese EV makers in Canadian factories or plants. Ms. Joly noted that a subsidiary of Magna International is doing this for China’s Xpeng in Austria.
This is the latest effort by the Carney government to save the Canadian auto industry as it faces an uncertain future because of protectionist United States trade policy. However, the move risks further irritating the U.S. during sensitive negotiations on the renewal of the trilateral United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which governs continental trade.
Joly said her mandate is to safeguard Canadian auto sector employment and adjacent jobs, which number roughly 500,000, including not only auto parts and auto assembly employees, but also workers in logistics, automation services and professional services, as well as automotive-centric tooling, and the specialized equipment, software and machinery engineered exclusively for designing, building, assembling and maintaining vehicles.
“What is important is how can we make sure that we offer great vehicles to Canadians that are actually affordable, and with the latest technology, while keeping and protecting our 500,000 auto workers,” Joly said. “My job is to square that circle, and the Prime Minister has given me the mandate to really be able to work with the sector and work with the Chinese automakers.”
In April, the Industry Minister rejected Stellantis NV’s plan to assemble electric cars with kits shipped from China at the automaker’s idled factory near Toronto.
Prime Minister Mark Carney sits down at the official working dinner during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France on Monday.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
Culture Minister Marc Miller rejects claims Ottawa `has sold out Canadian culture’ over Online Streaming Act: In an interview, Miller pushed back on criticisms from stakeholders in the country’s film and television sector who have accused Ottawa of capitulating to U.S. tech interests over the Online Streaming Act as trade tensions persist with the Trump administration.
Bell Canada parent cutting work force by nearly 700 employees: The move is part of a broader organization reduction that started last year, the latest in a series of job cuts in the telecom sector.
Military police to stop accepting sexual offence complaints: The action anticipates passage of the Liberal government’s military justice system reform bill, which will strip the military of its jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute sexual offences involving Canadian Armed Forces members committed within the country.
Ontario ER doctors raise alarm on hospital overcrowding: Three-quarters of Ontario emergency physicians say their departments are critically or severely overcrowded, and that patients awaiting beds inside their hospitals are stuck in the ER on nearly every shift, according to a new poll.
For people in Detroit and Windsor, Gordie Howe bridge delay fits a familiar - and frustrating - pattern: News of a delay in the opening of the $6.4-billion Gordie Howe International Bridge comes as no surprise to those who live in the shadow of the existing century-old Ambassador Bridge.
Carney’s Irish grandfather fought off mob of 50 armed men as young police recruit during civil war: Carney’s genealogical history was completed by the Irish Family History Centre at Dublin’s Irish Emigration Museum to coincide with the Prime Minister’s visit to Ireland.
On our radar
Prime Minister’s Day: Mark Carney travelled from County Mayo in Ireland to Évian, France, today for the G7 Leaders’ Summit, where he initially met with the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In the evening, he attended the G7 Leaders’ Summit informal working dinner.
Carney’s office has released a schedule for Tuesday that has the Prime Minister meeting, among others, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting appears set for 25 minutes.
Party Leaders: Green Party Leader Elizabeth May was at the House of Commons. No schedules released for other leaders.
Ministers on the Road:
In Shanghai, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, with Kody Blois, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, is beginning a trip that will also take them to Japan before it ends on June 23 as they work to advance Canadian priorities and promote economic growth.
In Toronto, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne opened the market at the Toronto Stock Exchange, and participated in a fireside chat hosted by the Canadian ETF Association.
In Toronto, Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State for Small Business and Tourism, announced support for sport-tech innovation and entrepreneurship.
New Chief Justice in Newfoundland and Labrador: Daniel Boone, currently a judge of the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador, has been appointed to the post. The Prime Minister’s Office announced the appointment today.
Quote of the Day
“If a province doesn’t want to move forward with the safe-consumption site, I cannot force them. So my conversation with them? `Okay. You are closing it. But what are you considering to do? How are you going to cope with this problem? How are you going to resolve it?’” - Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel, during a news conference in Ottawa today, talks about safe-consumption sites, noting the government provides exemptions for such facilities, but provinces and territories provide services.
Question period
The 2026 G7 summit is being held in France this week. Which country is hosting the 2027 G7 summit?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Mark Carney’s dastardly plot to make separatists sad
Given the choice of being criticized no matter what he does, the Prime Minister should focus on job one: keeping the country together. There are lots of ways to strengthen Canada, many of them detailed in this space during Mr. Carney’s tenure.
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
Trump management in a less clubby G7
Trump management is the underlying goal for every G7 summit now. Will the U.S. President agree? Will he blow the whole thing up?
— Campbell Clark, Chief Political Writer
Mark Carney’s economic plan has medium-term goals, but we need affordability now
But building Canada strong will take years. Millions of Canadians are looking for evidence that their government understands the financial pressures they face today, not just the prosperity it hopes to create tomorrow.
— Dr. Paul Kershaw is a policy professor at UBC and founder of Generation Squeeze, Canada’s leading voice for generational fairness.
Go deeper
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
- Get the latest insight and analysis from our political opinion writers
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
The answer to today’s question: The United States, given that it is assuming the G7 presidency, which rotates among members.